Good thing you can edit the controls, by pressing PAUSE, and editting the control layout.

On another note, I think the main reason myself, and others, loved the game so much was because it felt grand, epic, and adventurous. The story was left for interpretation, much like "Journey." Once you figure out all the ways to beat the Colossus then it's pretty much straight forward, but it's a good game to play through once. I loved it so much I played it on Normal and Hard, twice, and got all the secret weapons, items, and upgraded my Stamina and Health bar to max capacity. 

The controls are indeed fine and the game has aged very well. I loved playing the HD version on ps3 again and went for all the lizards this time as they're easier to spot at 1080p. Its barren landscape draws me in like no other game.

What the game does require is a bit of patience, observe the movements, find out when you can release the grip button and ride out the movements to regain stamina before clinging on again. Time you movements right to use the colossi's momentum to your advantage. It's beautiful when you get it and can move around the colossi with ease. Most fights take half an hour or more, not because they're bullet spunges with health bars that keep resetting, but because it takes time to figure out each Colossi's behaviour.

The only problem this game has is that afterwards all boss battles that involve hacking away at a boss's ankles while dodging its repeated attacks just feels stupid.